A spoonful of warmth

Updated: Oct 30 2005, 06:17am hrs

They don the white caps and aprons and stir quite a steam in the kitchen. Of course, the end results are simply sumptuous. A group of chefs decided to step out of their hot kitchens and stir the lives of schoolchildren with some thoughtful gifts. October 20 is celebrated as World Chefs Day. The chefs at the InteContinental, The Grand, Mumbai, decided to celebrate it in a different manner this year.

A group of chefs along with executive chef Jochen Kern donated books and pens to municipal schoolchildren. Says Kern, Education is the key foundation to a bright future for children. This initiative by the chefs of InterContinental, The Grand, Mumbai is aimed at creating awareness about education. The hotel and the chefs decided to make a difference in the lives of children. Besides this, my wife and I have made personal donations as an acknowledgement and appreciation of hospitality in India.

The idea behind the celebration of World Chefs Day is to inspire and acknowledge other chefs across the world and attract young talent towards the profession. I sought to do the same in India by involving chefs from other hotels in Mumbai last year, says Kern.

Internationally, a lot of creative events are organised to make the day eventful and memorable. It is basically done to promote awareness about professional chefs. Hotels celebrate World Chefs Day by inviting members of the Caviar Club and putting up special menus. Besides wine and dinner parties for chefs, a lot of sports events also take place across the globe.

Last year, the celebrations were of a different kind when the hotel and the Western India Culinary Association joined hands to celebrate the culinary event. Over 100 chefs from surrounding hotels congregated at Hotel InterContinental, The Grand, to celebrate the day.

World Chefs Day should be the platform to communicate a feeling of warmth and affection towards the society. I am sure next year we will do something bigger than this year, adds Kern.

A teacher from a Municipal school said, InterContinental The Grand approached us with the idea of giving stationery to the schoolchildren as a community service programme. We agreed as it was for a noble cause. Activities like these that are linked to the benefit of society at large should be encouraged.

Around 3,600 children, including primary and secondary students, were happy on getting the gift of notebooks and pens. The children got quite excited with the chefs attire and caps. As a friendly gesture all the chefs presented their caps to the kids while leaving, much to the childrens delight.

The World Association of Cooks Society, a forum comprising chefs and cooks in the profession across the globe, also celebrated October 20 as World Chefs Day.

More than 70 countries participated in the worldwide event after notifying their governments, planning for the activities and soliciting sponsor support.